STARK COUNTY (OHIO) — Two men have been sentenced after being convicted in a multi-million dollar Ohio gambling tax fraud case.
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Christos Karasarides Jr. was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
He is ordered to pay back over $5 million in restitution, forfeit his residence, and over $400,000 in cash, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Ronald DiPietro was sentenced to at least nine years in jail and three years of supervised release.
The DOJ also ordered that he pay back at least $4 million in restitution.
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The crimes happened between 2009 and 2018.
DiPietro was a certified public accountant (CPA) when he and Karasarides operated the gambling businesses together.
They earned at least $7 million in profits, the DOJ stated.
Both men tried to hide their ownership by using nominee owners and “sham contracts,” prosecutors said.
Karasaides caused a tax loss to the IRS of $5.4 million while DiPietro created a tax loss of over $4 million to the IRS.